Tie-Dyed and Blue Footed

Fishermen on the coast of Ecuador.

Excerpt from Christi’s journal:

At the end of our visit, Chris took us down to the coast (about four days drive) for a couple of days. His mother, who has been a missionary in Ecuador for many years, has a home near the coast. She graciously invited us all to enjoy her home for a few days. The beach is not at all commercialized. It was so much fun to sit on the shore and watch the sand crabs scurrying about, and see a little island off in the distance. We enjoyed taking a boat out to the island to see the unique birds, called the “Blue footed Boobies”. This part of Ecuador seems so different from the rest of the country. Instead of Indians, you see mostly black people and there is more of a “Caribbean” feel. They say slave ships wrecked and that is why the population is more diverse here.

Our food of choice for those few days was “seviche”, which is shrimp (cooked by putting them in lemon juice, served in cold salsa; tomatoes, onions, garlic, lots of lemon, vinegar, cilantro—in a blender). You eat it like a cold soup with popcorn in it instead of crackers. We purchased this from people at a little stand…they were preparing it right there on the beach. We pulled chairs up in the sand next to their makeshift counter and enjoyed the umbrellas shading us from the heat of the sun.

Our drink of choice was a big cold, natural fruit drink. Usually half fresh pineapple, half fresh coconut blended with ice in a blender and a little sweetened condensed milk poured on the top; then topped off with more pieces of fresh coconut.

We also went to the outdoor market and bought some “tie dyed” items and handmade jewelry. What a fun ending to our Peruvian Ecuadorian missions journey.